Whiplash is a liberating and delicate piece of art challenging stereotypes that cause harmful stigmas to exotic dancers

Whiplash is a comedic yet profoundly heartfelt moving show displaying the importance of sisterhood while slashing the unfair stereotypes people working in the Sex Entertainment face routinely. Throughout the play a new girl, Candy (Rosie Carson) tumbles in and starts working for the Gentleman’s Club. The girls who already work there are quick to help her learn the ways of being a stripper, especially Nemesis (Hannah Cauchi) who is a woman who used to work there but after having a horrific experience with a customer was thrown out, but has returned to her ‘home’. Furthermore, it also digs deep and has very dark themes woven in. The plot discusses the brutality these women face through the stigma and slander from the inside world. 

Written and produced by Rachel Isobel Heritage (who also plays Nikii), has talentfully executed Whiplash into a brilliant and imaginative play about the dehumanising and victim shaming (even though the women who are choosing to be strippers are not victims they are simply doing a job they love) of strippers. The storyline is very moving to watch and the audience gets a real insight into the job from the positive points of the sisterhood and unity to the endless lists of negatives which are completely out of their control. However, there are moments where it can be found that the plot didn’t move quickly enough to keep our focus. In addition, the scene changes were at times very slow and having slicker changes would have aided the pace of the show. There is also wonder whether the ending of the audience watching what actually happened to Nemesis for her to be thrown out was necessary as we already knew from the women’s discussions that it was a traumatic event for her. But despite these moments of stagnation and ending the writing from Heritage is sophisticated. 

The show Whiplash attacks social norms which any worker in the Sex Entainment faces like their ‘victims’. It also explores the criminality within the industry from terrible customers and management to the difficulty of actually making money from house fees, card fees, being late fines (even if just five minutes) to being fined if having to go off sick. This is an important story and needs awareness and support. Hopefully, through this play, there will be more recognition and power in the Sex Workers’ Right Movement.